World War II Hero Nancy Wake
A Snapshot Biography
"I was never afraid. I was too busy to be afraid." - Nancy Wake
In look, Nancy Wake was glamorous; in personality, she was a fearless fighter and rebellious.
Born in New Zealand in 1912, she ran away from home at the age of 16. With £200 inherited from an aunt, she traveled to New York City and then to London, where she trained as a journalist.
In the 1930s, she moved again, taking a job in Paris for Hearst newspapers as a European correspondent, witnessing the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi movement. Another move came a few years later, this time to Vienna, where she observed Nazi gangs beating Jewish men and women in the streets.
After these experiences, she vowed to do anything she could to stop the Nazi movement. "I hate wars and violence but if they come then I don't see why we women should just wave our men a proud goodbye and then knit them balaclavas," she would say.
During World War II, Nancy joined the resistance, becoming a Special Operations Executive in Britain, working under the code name "Hélène." She became a courier and escort for Allied soldiers and refugees looking to leave France. "It was much easier for us, you know, to travel all over France. A woman could get out of a lot of trouble that a man could not," she remarked regarding the work.
Nancy took part in many missions, and her life was in constant danger. At one time, she was the most wanted person by the Gestapo. But she was always able to elude capture, a skill which earned her the nickname "The White Mouse." Her husband, however, was captured and executed for not sharing information about her whereabouts.
Nancy became one of the most decorated servicewomen of the war by the Allies. After the war, she briefly pursued a career as an intelligence officer in the Air Ministry. Nancy passed away on August 7, 2011.
Sources:
"Nancy Wake." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Wake
Studio Portrait of Nancy Wake. Australian War Memorial, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C252447
Willsher, Kim." Farewell to Nancy Wake, the mouse who ran rings around the Nazis." The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/aug/08/nancy-wake-white-mouse-gestapo
A wonderful post thank you!
That sounds crazy 🤪 with a name like The white mouse would catch attention. 🤔